Virgin Galactic's stock skyrockets, sealing biggest gain in two weeks

By James Rogers

The space-tourism company's stock rallied after ending Monday's session down more than 5%

Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. ended Tuesday's session up 12.3%, registering their biggest daily percentage gain since May 28, when they rose 22.6%.

The space-tourism company's (SPCE) rally came after its shares ended Monday's session down 5.1%.

Short interest as a percentage of Virgin Galactic's public float of shares was 27.66%, according to the latest exchange data. The stock rose on trading volume of 77.4 million shares, well above its 65-day average volume of 21.83 million shares.

Related: Virgin Galactic completes final Unity flight, sets sights on new Delta spacecraft

On Saturday, Virgin Galactic successfully completed the final commercial flight of its Unity spacecraft.

The spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson will now halt commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft, which is expected to enter commercial service in 2026.

The Galactic 07 mission marked Virgin Galactic's 12th mission to date and its second spaceflight in 2024. The flight was also Virgin Galactic's seventh research mission.

Related: Virgin Galactic's stock climbs ahead of final Unity spacecraft mission

The Delta spacecraft will have six passenger seats and will be capable of making up to eight spaceflights a month, while the Unity spacecraft has four seats for paying passengers and can make a single spaceflight per month. Delta tickets will be priced at $600,000, compared with the current ticket price of $450,000.

When Virgin Galactic reported its fiscal first-quarter results last month, the company said that the Delta-class production schedule remains on track for revenue service in 2026.

Joel Lim, a financial analyst at investing-information website Trading.biz, recently described Virgin Galactic as a promising space stock.

"Virgin Galactic Holdings is a different kind of space company, which makes it an exciting bet in the market," he said in a note last week. "It has a first-mover advantage in the commercial spaceflight industry and could become a highly valuable company in the near future."

Related: Virgin Galactic's better-than-expected cash burn a positive sign, says KeyBanc

Shares of Virgin Galactic are down 63.2% in 2024, compared with the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 12.7%.

-James Rogers

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06-11-24 1707ET

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